


Tale of Tongues

by TheAwkwardOne6



Series: The Adventures of Cato [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Fluff, Gay Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modded Skyrim, Reluctant Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 08:18:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20079061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardOne6/pseuds/TheAwkwardOne6
Summary: Cato listened to the bard sing the beautiful song dedicated to the dragonborn who had saved the world and started to feel overwhelmed. Kaidan was there to help him.





	Tale of Tongues

**Author's Note:**

> Kaidan is a modded, romanceable follower, and I absolutely love him. My family is concerned that I might actually be IN love with him because he was incompatible with one of my mods and I got sad because I had to either delete him or the other mod (which I liked) and I chose him because I physically cannot play Skyrim without him at my side and I constantly call him "babe" irl, but I digress. 
> 
> SPOILERS FOR KAIDAN'S STORY
> 
> FYI Cato and Kaidan are both 24 here.

Cato ran into The Bannered Mare, his lover Kaidan close behind. It was the middle of Frostfall and he was freezing. 

He still couldn't believe it was over. Cato spent three years of his life dedicated to killing Alduin and… it was over? Just like that? It didn't feel real. 

Cato never even wanted to be the Dragonborn. He wasn't special. When the Graybeards first called "DOVAHKIIN," he avoided the travel for three months. He only made the journey because the dragon attacks kept getting worse and worse until Kaidan had said, "Maybe you being Dragonborn is interlinked with the dragons, and you can somehow stop this."

Cato met Kaidan when he had been hunting near an abandoned prison. He found a dead body near it and immediately became suspicious. Cato broke in, killed the Thalmor guard with his bow and arrows (his weapon of choice), and freed Kaiden from a prison cell.

He initially followed him out of debt, but they soon became friends and companions. Then the dragon attack happened. 

Kaidan was there through the whole thing, always by his side. Cato couldn't remember when exactly he caught feelings for him, but he knew it was really early in their friendship. He had always been a sort of hopeless romantic.

It was only recently when they were camping near a lake and Cato had said, "Im going to bed."

"Can I join you?" Was what Kaidan had asked. 

Cato awkwardly accepted, and he was lucky he did. It was the best night of his life, and him and Kaidan fell in love. 

"I'd like to rent a room," Cato said, handing over the ten gold. He was a thane of Whiterun and could buy a house, but he didn't want to live in Whiterun. 

The innkeeper, Hulda, nodded and pointed to the room. "The room right there is yours for the night."

Cato sighed in relief as he sat in his chair, the love of his life across from him. "I still can't believe it's all over."

"Me neither," Kaidan looked bewildered. "What will you do now that the world doesn't need saving."

"I don't know. I don't think I can ever go back to a normal life…" the Imperial murmured. 

Kaidan grabbed his lover's hand. "Well, whatever you end up doing in life, I hope that I'll be there in it."

Cato smiled, interlocking their fingers. "Of course you will."

"This next song goes out to the Dragonborn, the saviour of Skyrim," Mikael, the bard, declared. That caught Cato's attention. 

_"Alduin's wings, they did darken the sky,_  
His roar fury's fire, and his scales sharpened scythes.  
Men ran and they cowered, and they fought and they died.  
They burned and they bled as they issued their cries.

_We need saviors to free us from Alduin's rage._  
Heroes on the field of this new war to wage.  
And if Alduin wins man is gone from this world.  
Lost in the shadow of the black wings unfurled.

_But then came the Tongues on that terrible day._  
Steadfast as winter, they entered the fray.  
And all heard the music of Alduin's doom.  
The sweet song of Skyrim, sky-shattering Thu'um.  
And so the Tongues freed us from Alduin's rage.  
Gave the gift of the Voice, ushered in a new Age.  
If Alduin is eternal, then eternity's done.  
For his story is over and the dragons... are gone."

Cato felt a tear fall from his cheek. It was all too much, too overwhelming. He couldn't breathe. 

He stood up and walked the the room he rented out. Kaidan walked after him, shutting the door behind him. "Are you okay."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," the dark skinned Imperial nodded, wiping away the tears from his blue eyes. "It's just… it feels nice to be appreciated for all that… that work I did. I never thought I would ever amount to anything…"

"Cato, why would you feel that way?" Kaidan asked concerned, sitting on the red sheets of the bed, pulling his lover down with him. 

Cato looked away. "You told me your story and I helped you uncover your ancestry. It's time you know my past."

"You don't have too. Some things are better left in the past—" Kaidan was interrupted. 

"Not this. You deserve to know," Cato took a deep breath and cleared his mind. "I was raised in Dragon Bridge. My parents… they were horrible. They would yell and hit me and say horrible things," Cato had started crying again. "I was called a mistake, a failure, 'why can't you be more like your brother,' and my parent told me they wished I was never born."

Cato began sobbing. Kaidan held him in his arms as he cried it out. All Cato could feel was the metal of Kaidan's armor, but his lover's presence was still a comfort. "And then they would beat me."

"Oh gods," Kaidan said out loud. 

Cato wrapped his arms around Kaidan's strong torso. "I wanted to die. I wanted to kill myself. At least my brother wasn't a complete asshole. He lives in Solitude now. I don't know if he's married or what's going on. We don't really talk."

"I think you're incredibly strong for getting through that," Kaidan said, running his hand through Cato's black hair. 

He smiled sadly. "You're better than I'll ever be."

"Don't say that," he told him. "Cato, I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered, kissing Kaidan. He was being gentle, which was unusual as things were usually wild and untamed with Kaidan, which Cato liked. So he deepened the kiss, making it rougher. "We need to get that armor off."

Kaidan got it off as fast as he could and Cato quickly undid his green leather hunting/archer gear. 

And there were several noise complaints that night. 


End file.
